Retirement or Travel? Why Not Both!

Regardless of where you were born or what generational label you attach to yourself, you have likely been told while growing up that your life will follow a specific path. For as long as I can remember, people have been trying to fit themselves and their children into this traditional storyline: graduate high school, go to college, get married and have kids, work a traditional job that offers a health package and 401k. This is just the way it has always been for previous generations.

But that life-path is far from realistic anymore. You see it all over the news, social media, and in blog posts, how Millennials are breaking the mold. But, let’s be honest, it isn’t just millennials and it doesn’t mean that if you aren’t a millennial, you can’t forge your own path. I would absolutely say that one of the greatest regrets in life is trying to fit yourself into someone else’s mold, rather than just enjoying every day by being yourself. If you’re settling for the mediocre and allowing the path of your life to be chosen for you, you are just plain missing out on life!

Now – don’t get me wrong – you do still need to do the adulty things like save for retirement. But if you live every day thinking and stressing about how you are going to retire, planning your retirement, adjusting your retirement so you can travel when you retire – just thinking about this makes me want to hit the tarmac and never look back! If you want to travel you need to make it a goal and a priority. There is no reason to wait until you retire to begin your travels. You can enjoy travel now and still save for a stable retirement when the time comes!

If you know me at all from visiting my blog – you know that I love to travel – and I do it a lot. It is a top priority for me and so is retirement planning. And although I am generally good about making sure that the plans I have put in place for retirement are still solid. It is always a good idea to revisit your plans each year. Now, AceYourRetirement.orgis making it even easier for those of us who do not want to spend every waking minute of our lives stressing over whether or not we have the right retirement plan.

I know I feel more confident after chatting with Avo at AceYourRetirement.org. And, it only took about 3 minutes out of my busy schedule! We’ve been savvy with our money. I know we are capable of achieving large financial goals. Now I feel much more confident and you can too.

Here are a few tips to consider to help you maximize your retirement savings:

While gathered with your family for the holidays, discuss your savings plans and retirement goals, and what you can do today to achieve them. It’s important for everyone in the family to be on the same page about your financial goals and priorities.

Start planning now what age you plan to retire and when you plan to start taking your Social Security benefits. Earning a few more years of income could really help you grow your nest egg, and delaying when you start collecting Social Security increases your annual benefit.

If your employer offers matching funds for your retirement savings plan, make sure you’re contributing at least enough to get the full employer match.

Brainstorm ideas for earning money in retirement, such as turning a hobby into a source of income, or taking on seasonal part-time work

Visit AceYourRetirement.org to get your personalized action plan in just three minutes. Your digital retirement coach, Avo℠, will reveal the top three simple, practical things you can do right now to make sure your retirement plan is on track.

Where will you start with your retirement and travel planning? What’s your biggest challenge today?